THE 


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RIGHT  SORT  OF  MEN 
FOR  THE  MINISTRY 


McDowell 


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4010 
.M336 
1909 


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Bv  4010  .Msae  1909 

McDowell,  William  Fraser, 

1858-1937. 
The  right  sort  of  men  for 

t-  ho  TO  1  n  1  s±jr^  V 


'    JUL  29 1909     *- 

THE       %,g^:#^ 

RIGHT  SORT  OF   MEN   FOR 
THE  MINISTRY 


BY 


y 


WILLIAM    FRASER    McDOWELL 

BISHOP    OF    THE    METHODIST   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH 


NEW  YORK 

Student  Young  Men's  Christian  Association 

124  East  Twenty-eighth  Street 

1909 


Copyright,  1909,  by 

The  International  Committee  of  Young  Men's 
Christian  Associations 


The  Claims  and  Opportunities 
of  the  Christian   Ministry 

A    SERIES    OF    PAMPHLETS 
EDITED   BY  JOHN   R.  MOTT 


THE    RIGHT   SORT   OF   MEN    FOR 
THE    MINISTRY 

By  WILLIAM   FRASER   McDOWELL 


series  of  pamphlets  on  the 

Claims  and  Opportunities  of  the 
Christian  Ministry 


The   Claims    of    the    Ministry   on    Strong 
Men 
By  George  Angier  Gordon 

The  Right  Sort  of  Men  for  the  Ministry 
By  William  Eraser  McDowell 

The  Modern  Interpretation   of  the  Call 
TO  THE  Ministry 
By  Edward  Increase  Bosworth 

The  Preparation  of  the  Modern  Minister 
By  Walter  William  Moore 

The  Minister  and  His  People 
By  Phillips  Brooks 

The  Minister  and  the  Community 
By  Woodrow  Wilson 

The  Call  of  the  Country  Church 
By  Arthur  Stephen  Hoyt 

The  Weak  Church  and  the  Strong  Man 
By  Edward  Increase  Bosworth 

The  Minister  as  Preacher 

By  Charles  Edward  Jefferson 


Letter  from  President  Roosevelt 

On  the  Call  of  the  Nation  for  Able  Men  to 

Lead  the  Forces  of  Christianity 


THE    RIGHT    SORT    OF    MEN    FOR 
THE    MINISTRY 

The  kind  of  men  required  for  the  ministry  of  to- 
day is  determined  by  several  capital  considerations. 
What  a  strong  man  should  do  with  his  one  life  should 
always  be  decided  on  the  basis  of  such  considerations. 
The  ministry  must  appeal  to  men  at  their  best;  their 
choices  must  be  made  at  the  highest  and  deepest 
levels  of  principle  and  life.  Otherwise,  manhood 
does  not  get  its  chance  and  the  ministry  misses  that 
manhood  which  it  must  have.  The  ministry  does 
not  and  can  not  make  its  appeal  on  the  basis  of  its 
need.  It  can  not  demand  strong  men  just  because 
it  has  none;  but  must  base  its  claim  on  fundamental 
and  commanding  principles.  The  best  men  must 
come  in  with  their  heads  up  and  remain  with  a  royal 
high-heart  edness. 

I.  The  kind  of  men  now  demanded  in  the  minis- 
try is  determined  by  the  character  of  the  Person  and 
institution  whose  ministers  the  men  are  to  be.     Small 

S 


employers  can  take  small  employees.  Little  insti- 
tutions can  get  along  with  little  men.  Empires 
must  have  emperors.  Kingdoms  must  have  kings. 
Kings  are  "men  who  can."  The  imperial  state  has 
the  right  to  the  services  of  her  strong  sons.  The 
emperor,  the  king,  the  president  has  the  right  to  call 
to  the  service  of  the  commonwealth  her  able  men. 
And  the  ablest  men  are  honored  by  such  call.  Eng- 
land had  a  war  in  South  Africa  which  many  Eng- 
lishmen and  many  others  regarded  as  a  very  bad 
war.  In  the  midst  of  it  Lord  Salisbury,  the  Prime 
Minister,  said  to  Lord  Roberts,  England's  chief  sol- 
dier: "We  have  discovered  that  this  war  depends  on 
the  generals."  And  England  sent  Lord  Roberts  and 
Lord  Kitchener,  her  greatest  generals,  to  the  front. 
England  honored  them  in  so  doing.  Our  own  na- 
tional history  is  full  of  such  instances.  Our  current 
history  is  illuminated  by  such  cases. 

Now  the  Church  at  its  best  is  the  chief  institution 
in  the  world  today.  Even  at  its  worst,  it  is  the 
chief  institution  in  the  world.  The  world's  fate  for 
good  or  ill  is  more  dependent  upon  the  Church  of 
Jesus  Christ  than  upon  any  government  or  all  gov- 
ernments.    The  imperial  Church  has  a  right  to  the 

6 


services  of  imperial   people.     The  great   institution 
naturally  calls  for  the  great  personality. 

The  Church  ranks  any  government  or  institution 
in  the  strength  and  sovereignty  of  its  call,  but  when 
one  considers  that  it  is  Jesus  Christ's  Church  a  new 
situation  is  created.  ''Ministers  of  Jesus  Christ"  is 
a  royal  term.  Presidents,  kings,  and  emperors  are 
not  to  be  compared  with  Him,  of  course,  but  the 
analogy  holds  clear  through.  He  has  the  supreme 
right,  because  of  what  He  is,  to  the  ablest  men  that 
can  be  found.  The  character  of  Jesus  Christ  deter- 
mines the  claims  of  the  ministry  on  the  strongest 
men.  It  claims  them,  not  because  men  now  in  the 
ministry  are  weak,  but  because  it  is  His  ministry  and 
He  is  sovereign  over  life.  John  Hay  could  give  up 
every  other  occupation,  however  alluring,  because 
McKinley  and  Roosevelt  and  the  Republic  needed 
him.  He  counted  himself  honored  that  he  was  thus 
wanted.  Phillips  Brooks  could  give  up  everything 
else,  however  attractive,  because  the  universal  Church 
and  Jesus  Christ  its  Head  needed  him  in  the  minis- 
try. It  sets  one's  blood  flowing  fast  to  think  of  the 
ministry  in  this  light.  It  is  the  ministry  of  Jesus 
Christ,    the    Master.     What    He    is   determines    the 

7 


kind  of  men  it  must  have.  The  light  in  which  we 
decide  is  the  light  of  His  face.  In  that  light  the  min- 
istry is  set  on  high,  far  above  all  ordinary  occupa- 
tions. 

There  is  no  argument  with  Him.  He  possesses 
what  Matthew  Arnold  called  invincible  supremacy. 
Whatever  He  says  must  be  done.  In  the  presence 
of  others  men  stand;  when  He  enters  they  must  kneel. 
Charles  Lamb  was  right  about  that.  Those  per- 
sonal incidents  there  in  the  gospels  are  thrilling  to 
this  day.  The  personal  element  is  so  large  in  them. 
Here  sits  a  man  collecting  taxes,  not  a  very  choice, 
but  probably  profitable  business.  The  very  noblest 
Person  in  any  world  comes  past  this  man  at  his  desk 
and  says  in  substance:  "Matthew,  do  you  want  a 
chance  to  be  a  different  man,  to  go  with  me,  to 
help  me  do  the  best  thing  ever  done?  If  you  do, 
come  along  with  me."  Or  there  are  those  fishing 
men,  the  salt  of  the  earth  from  Peter  to  Fishin'  Jim- 
my. Into  their  lives  comes  this  same  best  Person 
saying:  **Do  you  really  want  to  do  a  big  man's  work 
in  the  world  or  on  the  sea?  You  are  catching  fish 
for  a  few  pence  a  day.  Come  with  me  and  catch 
men  and  the  wages  will  be  life  eternal."    There  is 

8 


no  emphasis  on  profession.  The  whole  emphasis  is 
personal.     The  rich  ruler  missed  his  chance. 

Still  the  supreme  and  sovereign  Christ  is  looking 
into  the  faces  of  men,  strong  men  drawn  to  busi- 
ness, and  making  this  personal  appeal.  Still  He  is 
asking  them  to  come  with  Him  to  help  Him  do  His 
work.  He  is  always  facing  a  crisis  and  needing 
strong  men  to  help  Him.  How  will  they  get  into 
the  new  Gospel  that  is  forever  being  written? 

2.  The  character  of  the  men  demanded  for  the 
ministry  is  determined  by  the  service  which  they  are 
asked  to  render.  The  ministry  proposes  a  larger 
service  to  humanity  than  ever  before.  We  speak 
sometimes  of  a  decline  in  the  relative  importance  of 
the  clergyman  in  the  community.  This  is  mis- 
leading. As  society  grows  stronger  and  life  richer  the 
place  of  a  true  minister  becomes  absolutely  much 
more  important.  His  place  is  much  stronger  be- 
cause he  is  not  so  solitary.  The  strong  man  is  made 
stronger  by  the  multiplication  of  strong  men  about 
him. 

Jesus  Christ  does  not  and  could  not  ask  strong 
men  to  give  their  lives  to  small  service.  Large  men 
can  not  be  asked  to  link  their  lives  to  small  affairs. 

9 


Wholesale  men  are  perverted  if  they  are  kept  for- 
ever in  retail  business.  Statesmen  have  no  right 
to  be  crowded  into  petty  politics.  Merchant  princes 
must  not  be  limited  to  clerkships.  Imperial  person- 
alities must   be  given  imperial   tasks. 

Now  the  ministry  has  not  always  seemed  a 
commanding  thing.  But  when  we  apply  to  it  the 
great  terms  that  link  it  with  the  best  conceptions 
and  illustrations  of  the  ministry  at  its  best;  and  when 
we  bring  this  conception  of  the  ministry  face  to  face 
with  the  present  tasks  of  the  ministry,  no  true  man 
can  feel  it  to  be  an  inferior  thing,  too  small  for  him. 
He  will  the  rather  humble  himself  in  the  presence  of 
what  must  be  done,  and  cry  out,  *'Who  is  sufficient 
for  these  things?" 

What  are  these  great  terms?  We  still  use  the  three 
words,  prophetic,  apostolic,  and  Christlike,  to  in- 
dicate our  supreme  conception  of  what  a  minister 
ought  to  be.  Not  every  man  in  the  ministry  is  a 
prophetic  man,  or  an  apostolic  man,  or  a  Christ- 
like man;  and  young  men  are  tempted  to  interpret 
the  ministry  by  lesser  types  and  to  misjudge  it  be- 
cause of  the  small  men  in  it.  Then  some  day  a  liv- 
ing  man  appears  to  whom   these  three  great   terms 

lo 


may  all  be  truly  applied,  and  the  hearts  of  youth 
leap  up  because  the  ministry  is  reincarnated  again 
in  their  presence.  And  youth  cries  out  in  joy  that 
the  thing  has  come  again.  Then  all  the  small  dis- 
cussions about  the  smaller  matters  of  the  ministry 
are  hushed,  for  there  it  is  in  a  prophetic,  apostolic, 
Christlike  man  living  before  men  and  doing  his 
work.  Mr.  Bryce  declared  that  the  character  of 
George  Washington  determined  the  powers  lodged 
in  the  presidency  by  the  makers  of  our  constitution. 
They  interpreted  the  office  in  the  terms  of  the  man 
who  sat  there  before  them.  For  them  he  was  the 
presidency.  When  my  contemporaries  were  defin- 
ing the  ministry  for  themselves  in  the  days  of  their 
youth,  Phillips  Brooks  was  doing  that  for  them.  It 
was  not  the  question  when  we  saw  him  whether  the 
ministry  was  big  enough  for  the  strongest  man.  It 
was  the  question  whether  the  strongest  man  could 
come  anywhere  near  worthiness  to  stand  in  a  pro- 
fession which  he  was  glorifying. 

A  highly  gifted  young  man,  a  graduate  of  a  great 
American  university,  remarked  one  day  that  his 
mind  was  clear  on  one  point,  namely,  that  the  no- 
blest  callings  are  those  which  pursue  the  study  of 

II 


men  and  life.  Said  he:  "Some  devote  themselves 
to  insects,  others  to  fishes,  others  still  to  rocks  and 
fossils,  and  yet  others  to  planets  and  stars,  but  none 
of  these  appeal  to  me  as  do  those  callings  which  have 
to  do  with  human  life,  human  character,  and  human 
society."  The  human  note  is  the  tremendous  thing 
in  our  whole  modern  conception  of  the  ministry. 
Never  was  the  ministry  so  human.  It  is  getting  into 
its  Master's  footsteps. 

The  ministry  is  not  a  place  in  which  to  earn  a  liv- 
ing, but  an  opportunity  for  doing  a  work.  Henry 
van  Dyke  dedicates  one  of  his  books  to  the  late  Dean 
Murray,  whom  he  called  "a,  teacher  of  literature  and 
life,  a  preacher  of  righteousness  and  love,  a  servant 
of  humanity  and  Christ."  But  one  who  is  such  a 
teacher  and  such  a  preacher  and  such  a  servant  must 
himself  be  a  man  of  literature  and  life,  a  man  of 
righteousness  and  love,  a  man  of  humanity,  a  Christ- 
like man.  And  the  task  of  the  ministry  is  the  task 
of  becoming  a  personality  possessing  truth,  a  per- 
sonality having  a  transforming  knowledge  of  things 
divine  and  human  and  a  transfiguring  acquaintance 
with  Jesus  Christ  as  the  conditions  precedent  to  the 
fulfillment  of  his  task. 

12 


The  ministry  was  once  individualistic  in  its  object. 
It  sought  the  redemption  of  the  individual  man. 
And  all  this  was  good;  it  never  was  anything  but 
good;  it  never  can  be  anything  but  good.  The  per- 
sonal Christ  and  the  individual  man  must  still  be 
brought  together  so  that  Christ  will  possess  the  man 
and  the  man  will  possess  the  Christ.  But  the  sig- 
nificance of  the  individual  has  not  been  lost  but  mul- 
tiplied by  the  discovery  of  his  tremendous  social  sig- 
nificance and  worth.  The  value  of  a  human  soul, 
upon  which  our  fathers  laid  great  stress,  is  multi- 
plied by  our  discovery  of  the  individual's  place  in 
the  Kingdom.  We  have  not  made  men  less,  but 
made  them  more,  by  the  new  social  emphasis.  We 
have  pressed  our  ministry  full  of  a  meaning,  that  in 
certain  ages  was  undreamed  of,  by  the  swelling,  ex- 
panding, social  movement  of  our  times.  To  re- 
deem an  individual  from  sin  is  a  task  that  well  might 
occupy  an  angel's  hands.  To  set  a  redeemed  in- 
dividual at  the  task  of  redeeming  society  also,  is 
immeasurably  larger.  Add  to  all  this  that  in  our 
day  Christ's  plans  for  world  conquest  are  for  the 
first  time  clearly  seen,  and  the  character  of  the  min- 
istry gets  an  added  dignity.     One  harks  back  to  old 

13 


days  and  feels  that  if  he  had  had  a  chance  in  those 
older  days  he  would  have  leaped  at  it.  If  he  had 
heard  the  Master  say  as  to  Matthew,  ''Follow  me," 
one  is  sure  that  he  would  have  insisted  upon  a  chance 
to  join  Matthew  in  the  Master's  service.  The  best 
of  us  feel  that  if  we  had  had  the  opportunity  ofifered 
to  the  rich  young  ruler  we  would  have  cried  out  to  the 
Master,  ''If  he  will  not  go,  take  me,  and  give  me 
that  chance  that  he  is  shirking."  He  feels  that  if 
he  could  have  taken  St.  Paul's  place,  nothing  could 
have  kept  him  out  of  it;  or  Augustine's  or  Savon- 
arola's or  Luther's  or  Wesley's  or  any  one  of  those 
great  historic  opportunities  upon  which  we  dwell. 

But  it  is  a  very  poor  view  of  inspiration  that  lim- 
its it  to  the  inspiration  of  far-off  men  in  far-off  times, 
and  a  very  poor  view  of  the  Kingdom  that  does 
not  see  that  the  Kingdom  is  always  a  bigger  and  a 
better  thing,  and  that  it  is  always  offering  bigger 
and  better  chances.  Washington's  chance  did  not 
equal  Lincoln's,  Lincoln's  did  not  equal  Roosevelt's. 
The  opportunity  of  St.  Paul  did  not  surpass  the  op- 
portunity of  a  hundred  modern  men  whose  names 
leap  to  my  lips.  His  missionary  journeys  round  the 
Mediterranean  were  of  immense,  and  have  proved 

14 


of  world  significance;  but  there  are  men  in  India,  in 
China,  in  Africa,  in  America  today  from  whom 
Jesus  Christ  expects  a  larger  service  than  he  ex- 
pected from  any  of  the  preaching  St.  Paul  did. 
Every  day  of  my  life  in  my  prayers  I  speak  the 
names  of  men  who  seem  to  me  to  stand  in  such  re- 
lation to  the  Kingdom  of  God  as  has  never  been 
surpassed  by  any  men  in  any  century. 

We  have  come  to  a  new  and  better  conception  of 
Christ.  We  have  come  to  a  new  and  better  con- 
ception of  humanity.  The  times  are  big  with  the 
opportunities  to  interpret  Christ  to  the  individual, 
to  society,  and  to  the  world.  And  the  Kingdom 
is  not  likely  to  fail  because  it  gets  into  it  men  who 
are  too  large  for  these  opportunities.  It  will  fail, 
if  it  fails  at  all,  because  the  men  are  too  small  for 
the  enterprise. 

A  church  with  a  weak  ministry  can  never  touch 
strong  men  with  power;  can  never  Christianize  so- 
ciety; can  never  maintain  life  at  its  highest  or  keep 
truth  and  education  on  the  throne;  can  never  cre- 
ate and  preserve  philanthropy  in  power  and  warmth. 
The  service  of  man  will  run  low  and  become  feeble 
when  feeble  men  control  the  ministry.     The  mission- 

15 


ary  movement  is  attracting  able  men  and  well  it 
may,  but  the  strength  of  that  movement  is  in  the 
pulpit  of  the  Church  at  home  more  than  anywhere 
else. 

The  service  of  humanity  for  the  love  of  Christ, 
this  is  the  appeal.  The  service  is  noble  and  the 
motive  compelling.  The  thing  is  big  enough  to  do 
and  the  motive  for  doing  it  big  enough  to  warrant 
either  master  or  men  giving  life  to  it.  John  Hay 
can  not  give  his  best  years  to  secure  the  open  door  in 
China  simply  in  order  that  American  merchants  can 
sell  a  little  more  merchandise.  The  motive  is  too 
small  for  that  burden.  Our  best  men  can  not  give 
themselves  to  the  Philippines  just  to  get  back  the 
money  we  paid  for  the  islands.  The  motive  will 
not  bear  the  burden.  The  motive  of  the  statesman 
must  be  shot  through  with  liberty  and  uplift  and 
justice  for  all  men.  The  motive  for  the  ministry  is 
not  large  enough  if  it  be  either  a  commercial  or  a 
denominational  or  a  selfish  motive.  The  ministry 
must  be  shot  through  with  sacrifice  and  service.  Its 
symbol  must  be  the  cross.  This  opens  a  career  sur- 
passing any  other  in  life,  as  the  interests  of  mankind 
surpass  all  other  concerns. 

i6 


3.  The  kind  of  men  required  for  the  ministry  is 
determined  also  by  the  times  in  which  one  is  to  have 
his  ministry.  The  Master  always  remains  the  same. 
The  Gospel  in  its  essence  does  not  change.  The 
Gospel  is  large  because  universal  and  eternal.  Christ 
is  worth  serving  because  He  is  the  sovereign  figure 
of  every  age.  The  Gospel  is  vital  because  it  is  al- 
ways timely  and  everywhere  potent. 

Ages  are  not  alike,  nor  are  they  simple.  No  one 
term  characterizes  any  period.  Every  quality  is  ever 
present,  not  always  in  the  same  proportion  or  bal- 
ance. Many  terms  have  been  applied  to  our  times. 
The  age  has  been  called  the  age  of  doubt,  of  inquiry, 
of  science,  of  faith,  of  missions,  of  commerce,  and  of 
expansion.  These  are  a  few  of  the  terms.  They 
are  all  true  and  no  one  of  them  true  as  an  exclusive 
description.  The  age  has  been  pronounced  self-ab- 
sorbed, self-centered,  and  self-sufficient.  A  recent 
writer  declares  that  our  time  is  characterized  by 
"triviality,  uncertainty  and  complacency."  "This 
is  the  junction  of  the  capitalist  and  socialist  ages." 

Probably  all  this  is  true.  It  is  certainly  true  that 
it  is  a  great  age  and  shows  no  sign  of  growing  less 
within  the  generation.     It  is  a  fine  time  for  the  right 

17 


kind  of  man  to  live  in.  It  is  a  royal  time  for  a  phy- 
sician. All  the  ages  of  medicine  and  surgery  have 
led  to  this.  It  is  a  thrilling  time  for  a  teacher.  No 
period  from  Socrates  to  Arnold  has  equalled  it.  The 
new  science  alone  would  make  a  teacher's  opportu- 
nity notable.  It  is  a  commanding  time  for  mer- 
chants if  they  are  big  enough;  ability  has  not  had 
such  a  chance  since  men  began  to  trade.  It  is  a  su- 
perb day  for  the  inventor.  He  works  some  new 
miracles  every  month.  The  ministry  of  this  day  is 
surrounded  by  giants.  No  other  age  since  men  be- 
gan to  preach  has  offered  such  a  challenge  or  such 
a  chance  to  a  royal  pulpit.  Who  wants  to  be  a  king 
among  pigmies?  Who  wants  to  be  a  leader  of  weak- 
lings? Who  wants  to  bring  an  eternal  Gospel  to  a 
petty  period  full  of  petty  men?  Modern  life  is  going 
to  be  rich,  to  be  instructed,  to  be  skillful.  If  this 
great  life  fails  at  all,  it  will  be  in  character. 

Every  age  will  surely  have  its  gospel.  Ours  has 
tried  several— the  gospel  of  science,  the  gospel  of 
wealth,  and  even  the  gospel  of  pleasure.  It  cares 
for  none  of  them.  Now  when  the  age  reacts  who 
will  lead  it  into  truth  ?  Who  will  preach  the  eternally 
living  Christ  to  the  men  of  today,  in  modern  speech, 

i8 


for  imperative  needs?  Who  will  get  such  a  hearing 
in  modern  Babel  as  to  change  Babel  to  Pentecost? 
Who  can  make  room  for  himself  and  get  a  hearing 
in  our  modern  crowd?  Who  can  lead  among  so 
many  leaders?  Who  can  recall  men  to  the  glories 
and  values  of  things  invisible  in  the  face  of  modern 
wealth  and  comfort?  Who  can  effectively  preach 
to  modern  men  and  women  of  culture  the  truth  that 
frees?  Who  can  fill  the  modern  social  and  political 
spirit  with  the  mind  of  Christ?  Who  can  face  and 
conquer  the  monster  evils  of  current  life?  Who  can 
take  this  vast,  complex  modern  age  and  unify  its 
qualities,  not  destroy  them  but  fulfill  them  in  Christ? 
Who  can  help  Him  to  bring  all  these  tremendous 
qualities  into  subjugation  and  captivity  and  thus  to 
true  power  in  Himself? 

He  waits  for  such  men  that  they  may  help  Him 
in  the  finest  struggle  His  Kingdom  has  ever  seen. 
Age  of  Constantine,  Age  of  Charlemagne,  Age  of 
Crusader,  Age  of  Reformer — no  one  of  them  equals 
this  for  the  ministry  of  Christ.  The  great  Person, 
Christ;  the  great  service,  for  humanity;  the  great  age, 
for  life!    The  hour  of  the  strong  man  has  come. 


19 


GAYLORa  BROS. 

MAKERS 

SYRACUSE,  -  N.Y. 

»»*T.  JAN.  21,  It 


Date  Due                         | 

M-.-2.^^^i 

— ^ 

f) 

Princeton  Theological  Semmary-Speer   Libr; 


1    1012  01032  7593 


